The Diego Diaries: Auld Lange Syne (579) edited

-0-Ops Center Conference Room

They gathered, all of the leadership of the colony, military and civilian. The room was filled, then Prime entered chuckling over a joke told by a smug appearing Prowl. Sitting, dispersing datapads, Prime nodded at his Onliest Only One and they began.

"The agenda is long and when the civilian contribution is over the military will stay along with Barron and Coln-2 for discussion to follow. We would begin with old business. Jetta?" Prime sat back to listen.

"The towers in the new construction are going upward now. We paused long enough to finish the detailing of the Primal Basilica. That is a good thing because a funeral is going to be held there in three orns for Commotion." Jetta glanced at the priests who sat quietly along the wall. "Armour, what is the protocol for Optimus?"

"Given that the old rules do not apply any longer, he has no obligation to attend," Armour said. "We shall afford all the solace we can for them."

Jetta nodded. "Alright. The Basilica required a roof and finished work inside. All of that has been accomplished although there is still a number of things that require attention, none of them important to the functioning of the facility. We have turned the entire structure over to the Temple as part of their purview.

"The new cities are coming along well. I don't know when the next migration will come but we will try to achieve readiness as soon as we can without compromising quality. The new metro-formers will take up a portion of any new group offering nearly 25,000 homes for families and individuals. When Tyke comes on line, we will be poised to take new clients, some of which will be transferring to them because of the demand to reside in a city-former. Magnus and the Housing Authority are tracking available housing all over the colony."

Magnus nodded. "We have tens of thousands of accommodations now and will increase that number with the new cities."

Prime nodded. "We will have the contest for naming them soon. After the new year. Once you give us a timeline on completion, we can do that through the Community Bulletin Board."

Jetta nodded. "Done deal."

"Thank the Central Labor Hall maintenance crew and the Labor Council for the celebration yesterday," Optimus said with a grin. "We appreciate their effort and the extra work it took. I have sent notes to the Guilds for their participation and to the schools. I will do that for them too."

Jetta grinned. "I will."

"Ratchet?" Prowl asked with a smirk.

"You called?" Ratchet asked with a smirk of his own. He looked at Prime. "We have pretty much replaced all of the circuitry on Metrotitan to ensure there are not blind drops and other potential sleeper possibilities in his programming. Straxus was a fragger and nothing is too low for him. Tyke's very remorseful and looks forward to service. He might be more useful if he has the capacity to step up when needed. Perhaps not having a permanent residential population would be useful here. Or not. I haven't discussed it with him. He's very embarrassed and determined to be useful. He's also the youngest. You know about impetuous youth, right?" Ratchet asked, then glanced at Prowl. "Some of us anyway."

Prowl shot him a smoldering optic and a slight smirk. "Anything else? Loser?"

Snickers filled the room until a gentle clearing of a throat by Prime brought decorum back into vogue.

Sort of.

"Yes, actually. There is the problem with senior Autobots and civilians who lead this colony and who slagging know better ignoring my requests to haul aft in for checkups. Slaggers. All of you."

It was quiet a moment, then Prime cleared his throat again. A wholly unnecessary affectation it must be known. "Okay."

Snickers followed that too.

"Magnus?" Prowl asked with a pointedly smirky glance at Ratchet.

He glanced at Prowl, then Ratchet. His processor ever filled with the right way of doing things in a military manner without looking like a slagger heated up. "Is there something going on between the two of you that needs addressing or is this some more of the outrageous slag that all of us have suffered with all these years?"

Ratchet looked at him, then Prowl, then Magnus. "I do declare … I haven't the faintest notion of what you are saying, Magnus."

Prowl smirked slightly. "Of course you do, Loser. Magnus is just commenting on the magnitude of your loser-ness. Dom. Loser-dom."

"That isn't a word, computer boy," Ratchet said leaning back casually, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Computer boy?" -Miler,Venture and Prowl

"If the USB cord fits, wear it," Ratchet said leaning in with a triumphant grin.

Prowl sat a moment digesting the old memories of yore, then kicked Ratchet under the table. Turning to Optimus, he began. "Magnus?"

Ultra Magnus looked at Prowl as if seeing someone he didn't know which pretty much summed it up. The old Prowl was orbiting the used persona bin somewhere while the new snarkier model was sitting as prim as ever across the table. Magnus shook his helm. "We are expanding city and colonial offices to the Tri-Cities making sure that there are sites providing general services in the outlying areas. Several floors of one of the central towers in the city center of Centurian, Kalis and Tyger Pax have been set aside for us to use to ensure that citizens can obtain those things that they need locally.

"Businesses are expanding into the centers of the three cities affording entrepreneurs all manner of opportunities to build their businesses and meet needs. There are dozens of applications for business licenses pending and when those are secured, we expect the current level of business activity by private individuals to double current levels. All in all, we are at or exceeding our projected planning targets as of now."

"That's good news. What about supply to businesses of raw materials and distribution? Have post offices opened in the new cities?" Prime asked.

Magnus nodded. "We are keeping the Autobot City Central Post Office in the Polyhex Business Center. It could be that we will have to build a central post office itself at some point especially with the volume of mail, shipping both on and off world as well as local packages that we now handle. There are branch post offices in each city with the same planned for the new construction."

"Good news," Prime said nodding. "Thank you."

Magnus nodded. "You are welcome, sir."

"Who's next?" Prime asked glancing at Prowl who was taking notes as the discussion wound onward.

They continued, everyone putting their two shanix on the table until all of the civilian items were handled. Business was good. School conferences minus the newest children would be in a decaorn. New children's families were conferencing all along with teachers and testers sorting out children and making plans with their parents for their education new students.

That is when Optimus nodded and the civilians left snarking and laughing to enjoy their orn off. Schools were closed until after New Years and the odd convergence on the Cybertronian calendar of Memorial and Veteran's orns. Those would come on the human's New Years Day which they celebrated yearly to honor the first one they shared with humans back in the orn on the beaches of Diego Garcia.

The door closed. Prime looked at the gathered soldiers. "Paragon wants to come for a talk. I believe he's going to surrender his group to us."

It was silent a moment, then Alor nodded. "Smart move," he said. "The idea that they can overturn us is rather preposterous after all of this."

"That was the goal," Prime said. "He is going to call for a bridge about noon. We will bring him here and go over things. When he gives his oath to the Matrix, it will be solid."

"He's religious," Ratchet said nodding. "So is Cyclonus. Someone told me that he was raised in a very, very religious family. Sort of reminds you of someone, right?"

Prowl shot him gimlet optics, then looked at Prime. "How about his crew? He might not be able to get them all to surrender."

"He will let them go on their way. I am sure the pirates or Cyclonus will pick them up. I don't know how many he has or how this will turn out but he's coming," Prime said. "We will be inheriting in all likelihood his base. That can be staffed by Seekers with a bridge. I think flying mechanisms that far out with heavy guns would be the best possible deterrent as well as a migratory defense and response configuration. A Seeker should command as well."

Starscream nodded along with the other Seekers. "I agree," he said with satisfaction. "Nothing beats an airborne mechanism, grounders. No offense."

"Plenty taken," Ratchet said with a grin. Starscream grinned back.

They troubleshot the problem laying out scenarios and security. Then Prime leaned back. "Good of the order?" he asked with an almost wistful tone.

"I would like to say," Prowl said sitting back smugly. "I would like to state for the record that the Primus League Cup will look lovely on my mantlepiece. Thank you very much."

Cups and half finished snacks pelted him as he ducked until they flew past. Sitting up looking smug anyway, he grinned. "You really are doing the cleaning crew a disservice when you resort to such childish behavior."

"Whiner. Clean it up then," Ratchet said with a chuckle. "By the way, I have an idea."

Everyone turned to look at Ratchet with a wary expression on their faces. He sat back grinning broadly. "How many of you have ever heard of t-Ball?"

It was silent as mechanisms uploaded, searched, then went through various stages of WOW! THAT'S GREAT or OMG! WTF! NOT ME, YOU DON'T! Ratchet watched them with a sense of satisfaction that only a truly evil spark could feel. "I think it would be a great summer game for the younglings. T-ball needs some love. How about it, Prowler? How about running t-ball?"

Prowl looked at Ratchet with intense loathing. He leaned forward, his servos pressed on the tabletop. "How about you, Ratchet? How about you doing something you propose yourself, you slagger? How about you running t-ball?"

"I already ran infant football. Don't dump that on me," Ironhide said with concern.

"That's right, you did, Only One," Ratchet said patting his arm. "Besides, you have to run the Autobot Scouts. T-ball would seem excessive too."

Laughter greeted that as Prowl and Ironhide glared at Ratchet. Prime grinned. "Why isn't the Autobot Scouts online?"

Ironhide and Prowl looked at him. "Because." -Ironhide and Prowl

"Lazy afts," Ratchet said with a grin. "How about you and Drift running t-ball and show up your old atar?"

It was hard to see which happened faster, Drift and Springer both sitting up straighter or their smiles disappearing off their faces.

"I don't know about that, Ratchet," Springer said.

"How about getting the Wreckers to help you? How hard can it be to do t-ball?" Ratchet asked as innocently as he could manage. It came across as Lucifer pretending to be innocent of the Fall.

"I'll help you, cry babies," Alor said with a smirk. "Sounds like fun and the babies can play."

"I will volunteer Seekers as well," Rainmaker said glancing at Starscream with a smirk. That mechanism lost his smirk immediately.

"Very well. T-ball it is. What do we do?" Prime asked with a big smile.

A show of slag met his comment like a freight train. He sat back and grinned. "I want a plan ASAP."

"Just like the Autobot Scouts?" Ratchet asked as he grinned at Prowl.

That bot glanced at him sharply. "Loser," he hissed. "We have been busy."

"A draft. That is an order." Prime leaned forward on his elbows. "I love it when you get flustered."

Prowl blinked. Prime grinned. It was all good. They shot the shit for a moment, then the meeting broke up so that those involved could manage their part of Paragon's visit. Pausing at the door, Drift and Springer waited for Ratchet. "Thanks, Mom," Springer said with a grin.

"Don't mention it, good looking," Ratchet said as he fell in with the two smirking mechanisms. "You'll love it. Get coaches to run the teams and you stand around looking official. That's all you do. Others do the work, you get the glory. Ask Ironhide about football. I will help you get coaches."

"Good," Drift said. "I don't know frag about sports. We were too poor to own a ball."

Ratchet grinned. "I was so poor, I didn't know what a ball was. Your turn, Springer."

They both looked at the tall mid caste mech watching as he tried to find a poor story of his own. He glanced at both of them, his bond and his adoptive genitor. "Frag you both," he said with a chuckle. "I got nothing."

"Oh yes you do. You have t-ball," Ratchet said as they disappeared into the mid morning crowd at the intersection.

-0-TBC January 6, 2014

NOTE: T-ball is baseball for the tiniest kids. You put the ball on a tall tee and the infants hit it. They run to a base. No one tags anyone in the smaller ranks and everyone has a blast. T-ball is perfect for Kaon, Orion and Praxus aged kids. :D:D:D

NOTES: SHOUT OUT TIME! I went back to September to give a shout out to the notes I have been given. The readers of this story are my heroes whether they write to me or not. I write this for all of you. :D:D:D Happy New Year!

Shout out to: fancyspinner, Guest (many), Leoness, Maraluch, optimusprime101, Kaekokat, ghost-writer 88, SiriusBlackFan2, Envy, Sesshykiss 13, lockdownthegunner, SkyenhaMarissa, Zeng Xiao Sunstar Crystal and Mom :D … yes, mom reads it too. *SWOON!*, Zea T, Megatron Owes Me Money, Cry4Me, anon (many), GO KAON, JC, SunnySidesofBlue, Cartersville Guy, cball 671, Starfire201, Gabriella5Greene551, Donnie Rose, Novamyth, Starscream, gillian of aranel, Wackedgourd, Phoenyx Starr, Elita-2, Birdroe, Marian and NinjaSchoolDropout. THANK YOU!